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Friday, May 26, 2017

Writing Ideas - New Novel, part x140, It’s Finished, more Marketing

Announcement: Delay, my new novels can be seen on the internet, but the publisher
has delayed all their fiction output due to the economy. I'll keep you
informed. More information can be found at www.ancientlight.com. Check out my novels--I think you'll really enjoy
them.

Introduction: I wrote the novel Aksinya: Enchantment and the Daemon.
This was my 21st novel and through this blog, I gave you the entire novel in
installments that included commentary on the writing. In the commentary, in
addition to other general information on writing, I explained, how the novel
was constructed, the metaphors and symbols in it, the writing techniques and
tricks I used, and the way I built the scenes. You can look back through this
blog and read the entire novel beginning with http://www.pilotlion.blogspot.com/2010/10/new-novel-part-3-girl-and-demon.html.

I'm using this novel as an example
of how I produce, market, and eventually (we hope) get a novel published. I'll
keep you informed along the way.

Today's Blog: To see the steps in the publication process, visit my
writing website http://www.ldalford.com/ and select "production
schedule," you will be sent to http://www.sisteroflight.com/.

The four plus one basic rules I
employ when writing:

1. Don't confuse your readers.

2. Entertain your readers.

3. Ground your readers in the
writing.

4. Don't show (or tell) everything.

4a. Show what can be seen, heard, felt, smelled, and tasted on the stage
of the novel.

5. Immerse yourself in the world of your writing.

These are the steps I use to write a
novel including the five discrete parts of a novel:

The most important scene in any
novel is the initial scene, but eventually, you have to move to the rising
action. I started writing my 28th novel, working title Red Sonja.I finished my 29th novel, working
title School.I’ll be providing information on the
marketing materials and editing.

How to begin a novel.Number one thought, we need an entertaining
idea.I usually encapsulate such an idea
with a theme statement.Since I’m
writing a new novel, we need a new theme statement.Here is an initial cut.

For novel 28:Red Sonja, a Soviet spy, infiltrates the
X-plane programs at Edwards AFB as a test pilot’s administrative clerk, learns
about freedom, and is redeemed.

For novel 29:Sorcha, the abandoned child of an Unseelie
and a human, secretly attends Wycombe Abbey girls’ school where she meets the
problem child Deirdre and is redeemed.

First, you write and write and write
until you are competent and someone finally accepts one of your novels for
publication.

Second, you keep writing.

Third, you market.

Fourth, you keep writing with the
hope your marketing and your writing will finally come to fruition.I want to write about the fruition part
again.Skill is a requirement.Thus without skill, you can’t expect to
entice a publisher (or anyone else) to read your works.The million words is necessary.If you make it with less than one million
words, you are a true prodigy beyond the norm in mankind—or you have a contact
in the business who helps you extensively.The one-shot wonders in our business were likely helped by their connections
more than their skill.You can fake
skill with a helpful ghost writer—we know that because most of those
celebrities are too stupid and unskilled to write on their own.Not all, but most—you know that, right?The talking heads on the news, read what was
given to them—you knew that, right?Some
people really do have the skills you might expect from their life and
experience, many don’t—you knew that, right?

Let’s suppose you have the skills,
or not.The question is what shall I
write about?I’ve been harping from the
beginning, you must entertain.Without
entertainment, no one will read your writing.Beyond the skill and the entertaining, what should I write?I have written, you want entertainment and a
unique twist or a unique idea in the entertainment part.

Some ideas trip my interest
factor.I look for pathos, excitement,
and unique ideas.I went over first
paragraphs with you before.I showed you
how the initial paragraph and the initial scene drives novels and attracts
readers.The marketing materials are the
same.Some ideas hit me squarely in the
brain interest area.Some stronger than
others.I write those things that would
make my brain interest area light up.Thus, I like pathos (emotion) building characters.I like some degree of mystery and
secrets.I like a touch of the supernatural.You might say Harry Potty would exactly touch
my brain interest areas—you would be right.The Sparkly Vampire novel, and the Hungry Game novels would do the
same.No supernatural in the Hungry
Games, but the idea is unique enough to interest me.

So what are you going to write
about?If it doesn’t trip your interest
and excitement, it won’t trip anyone else’s.If it seems bland or boring on paper, it really is.If the ideas are not unique or interesting,
they aren’t.If you are skilled (one
million words, remember), and you are still having problems connecting with a
publisher, it is time to evaluate your writing subjects.Some stuff is just boring.Some ideas are boring.If it sounds boring to you or others—it is.Find another topic for your writing.

About Me

L. D. Alford is a novelist whose writing explores with originality those cultures and societies we think we already know. His writing distinctively develops the connections between present events and history—he combines them with threads of reality that bring the past alive. L. D. Alford is familiar with technology and cultures—he is widely traveled and earned a B.S. in Chemistry from Pacific Lutheran University, an M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Boston University, a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from The University of Dayton, and is a graduate of Air War College, Air Command and Staff College, and the USAF Test Pilot School. L. D. Alford is an author who combines intimate scientific and cultural knowledge into fiction worlds that breathe reality. He is the author of three historical fiction novels: Centurion, Aegypt, and The Second Mission, and three science fiction novels: The End of Honor, The Fox’s Honor, and A Season of Honor.